POP-TARTS BOWL: BYU COUGARS VS GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS

December 24, 2025

Aaron Roderick

Chase Roberts

Camping World Stadium

BYU Cougars

Press Conference

AARON RODERICK: It's great to be here. We're super excited about this Bowl game and have a ton of respect for Georgia Tech.

I think it's two programs, who are really similar, smart, tough players that execute and play really hard.

Interestingly enough, Georgia Tech's offense is an offense that we study a lot. We have a lot in common with them. Devoted a lot of time to studying them in the off-season and during the season. It's one of those teams we watch every week what they did that week and look for ideas. It's interesting that we are playing against them.

Talking to some of their coaches last night, they said some similar things back to us. A lot of respect from the two coaching staffs, and their defense plays really hard. They do a lot of things well, and we are really looking forward to the chance to compete with these guys.

Q. I wanted to ask, you've got a young quarterback in Bear. What has impressed you the most about his development, what he's been able to do over the season, and what have you noticed that's made him maybe stand out and be the special player he's been?

AARON RODERICK: Bear is a special player. I think the thing that stands out most about him is his poise. It is rare to see a freshman who is so unbothered by any circumstances good or bad in a game. He has had a lot of success this year. He is not real impressed with himself. He keeps working and gets ready to play again the next week, and then when we have stumbled, he is not a guy, who dwells on it or gets discouraged by it. He has always playing the next play, and he is just a very steady, consistent person in all areas of his life.

Q. Aaron, following up on Georgia Tech's offense, what stood out about concepts or formations?

AARON RODERICK: All of it. They are very creative on offense. They like to run the quarterback. I don't like to run the quarterback quite as much as they do, but the quarterback run game has always been an element in what we do, whether it was all the way back to Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, Jake Retzlaff, now Bear. The QB run game I think is a great equalizer. Then, Georgia Tech is just very creative with their formations and how they use their personnel.

They find ways to get the ball to their best players consistently, and that is something we try to do, as well. We are trying to get the ball this guy. Get the ball to Parker Kingston, to LJ Martin. That is one of those teams we just really like to study.

Q. How much confidence do you have in the depth at running back to step up in LJ's place?

AARON RODERICK: I do have confidence in those guys, but any time you are missing the Big 12 Player of the Year, that is going to be a big loss. We went into every game this year saying LJ has to carry the ball 20 times and then everything else follows. That is what kind of player he is.

So with the other guys, it is going to be by committee. We are going to spread the ball around and see if one of them gets hot, then maybe they will field more carries. But right now, we have a plan to use all three of those guys.

But, I do have confidence in them. I'm excited, we kind of know, especially, next week, he has been around and done a lot of good things for us over the years. I'm excited to see Jovesa play, who he is and what he can do for us in the future. He has speed and makes some plays in practice sometimes that, you think, okay, that is going to show up in a real game when his time comes.

It wasn't quite his time yet because we are trying to get the ball to LJ so much so I am excited to see what Jovesa does.

Q. You guys have some seniors on your team. What has been the overall message to the seniors as they play their final game here in the Pop-Tarts Bowl?

AARON RODERICK: I am glad you mentioned that. The seniors, these guys have done so much to help us get to this point. Our first year in the Big 12 we went 5-7. We had some tough losses that year, some humbling losses where we really found out the hard way what it was going to take to compete at a high level in this conference. Most of these seniors were part of that.

Then, to put in the work and go back-to-back 11-2 seasons, we didn't get to the Championship Game this year. We came up a little short. But these guys deserve to go out the right way, and so people think that Bowl games are meaningless or whatever, it's not true, man.

I still think Bowl games are super important in college football because otherwise, there is only one team in the country that gets to end the season feeling good.

There is so much hard work that these guys put into what they do, and so I really hope for our seniors that we go out and play well and let those guys get to experience winning one more time.

Q. Chase, what is your approach? What is your mindset coming into your final game at BYU?

CHASE ROBERTS: I was hoping I could just chill and Coach Roderick -- no. I am just excited to go out like Coach Roderick was saying. We want to end with a positive feeling and roll over into next season.

We saw what it did last year when we boat Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. It jump-started us into next season, and we want to do that for the young guys and we want to see BYU succeed.

As a senior, it is another meaningful game and we want to end the right way and just play BYU Football.

Q. What does your role as a captain carry?

CHASE ROBERTS: You try to be consistent and treat every game like it is your last and as a senior, this is my last game. I want to show the guys how much love I have for this program, and we will have continuing forward.

I think this is a great way to show that is to play hard in this game and to go out and practice and treat it like it is an important part of this BYU Football team and family.

So, that is what we are going to do.

Q. You guys fell just short of getting into the College Football Playoff field this year, but you have a chance to get to 12 wins which is something special for this program and has not happened since 2001. What would it mean to finish this out with a win and get to that 12-win mark?

CHASE ROBERTS: 2001 was the last time BYU had 12 wins, so to be able to do that as a senior, and with this team and with my brothers, that will be something super special, and will go down in the history books. It has been such a great momentum builder going forward.

Like I said, to have it with this team, this coaching staff, it will be something special that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Q. Can you break down Georgia Tech's defense what you've seen from them on film?

CHASE ROBERTS: That he just play hard-nosed football, and tough. There is Cover One. We will see if they do more man against us. Cover Three, all those different types of variations.

And it has been fun to watch their guys, and I think we have good matchups and want to win our matchups. We are going to be able to run the ball, pass the ball, do our thing against them.

Like Coach was saying, it is very similar, both sides of the ball with our defense. I think it is going to be a fun matchup. It is going to be like going up against our own defense and offense, as we go play Georgia Tech. They are very similar in a lot of ways with us.

So, just excited to go play and do our thing, and have some fun.

Q. You guys have done a really nice job these last couple weeks, slugging off some disappointment from the College Football Playoff and that kind of thing. You've embraced the spirit of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, like Parker, who has really embodied Frosted Strawberry in a lot of ways. Does that help you guys embrace what this Bowl game is? It's no secret you guys like to stay loose and sort of play clean like that. Does this type of Bowl game help that?

CHASE ROBERTS: Yeah, it fits with our culture to, like you said, play loose. It is warm outside. It loosens our muscles, and we get to play loose that way, too. Just going out and having fun.

We are a mature team to where we can spend a week in Orlando, have fun at Disneyland and all that and go win a football game. That is the team that we are, have fun do some karaoke together the day before the game and go out and kick some butt. That is the kind of culture we have here and what we are going to do this Saturday.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, you played at BYU. Your dad played at BYU, Chase. Can you speak to the relationship you have with the university? You see guys that come back and play or coach. What does the university itself mean to you?

AARON RODERICK: I played in the days of LaVell Edwards, everyone that was a part of that era, you have a soft spot for LaVell. Kalani has done a great job of -- doesn't imitate LaVell but he has carried on a lot of the same program characteristics.

One of those things is, mentioning that playoff loss is you don't play backwards. The next play, the next game is all that matters.

So, nobody is looking back. We will deal with that in the off-season with what things we have to do to be able to meet that challenge next year.

But right now, we are at a Bowl game. We are going to be present. We are going to have fun and we are going to be ready to play when the ball kicks off, and that is part of what has made this program great for a long time.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else, Chase?

CHASE ROBERTS: Kalani has established a culture that will carry on for a while. It has been fun to see the transition and the way that he has been able to build this program into, I feel like, what it needs to be and what we need to have going forward. Just with the love and the learn and the culture that we have is very strong and powerful, very player-led, and we have the right guys on board. We have got the right coaching staff, and I am excited to see what BYU does going forward.

Q. You can't expect me to not follow up if you're going to bring up pregame karaoke with the team what your go-to karaoke song is down here in Orlando?

CHASE ROBERTS: We always pull out -- let's see, I don't know if I can say that one on some of them get -- we keep it clean. We actually keep it clean in the karaoke. I am trying to think of one that we jam out to. I feel like we like to keep it chill, too. So we will pull out some Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars-type where we can just sing and get bumping but it's fun.

THE MODERATOR: We've broken down Georgia Tech's approach. What makes your own defense click?

CHASE ROBERTS: They are a lot of great athletes. Having Jack and Isaiah in the middle, too, scares you a little bit.

The way that our back end plays with toughness and speed, and having Tanner Wall back there and Faletau with his 6'4 length. It is a solid defense that when you line up against them you are wondering if you can find open spots and beat them, whether it is man, zone, whatever it is. I just think we have solid players.

AARON RODERICK: Agreed. I think people underestimate how much length and speed our defense has until you see them in person.

It's one of those things, you watch them on tape and they look good and you see them in person, you are like, these guys are long and fast. They play really, really hard, and they know exactly what they are doing every snap. They are very well-coached. They are going to hit you and tackle you and you're going to earn every inch you get against our defense.